The Cairo International Book Fair has announced the launch of the Nagu

The Cairo International Book Fair has announced the launch of the Naguib Mahfouz Prize for Arabic Fiction, an annual literary award valued at EGP 500,000 and accompanied by a gold medal modelled after the Nile Prize. The initiative was approved by Minister of Culture Ahmed Heno and will be presented by the fair every year beginning from this session, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Naguib Mahfouz’s passing — the only Arab author to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Egyptian General Book Organisation confirmed that the award is fully funded by the National Bank of Egypt and will be open to novelists from Egypt and across the Arab world. Submissions open on December 4th, 2025 and will close one month later on January 4th, 2026. Eligible works must be novels published in 2025. Applicants are required to submit three physical copies of the nominated title to the Egyptian General Book Organisation at 1194 Corniche El Nile, Ramlet Boulak, Cairo, with envelopes clearly labelled “Naguib Mahfouz Prize for Arabic Fiction.”